Harry Potter 1. Come Together

**A/N: I don't own Harry Potter. This was written for Tangooooo14's challenge, "The Album Challenge".**

Severus Snape POV:

My parents rushed off quickly, eager to get away from all of the hustle and bustle that King's Cross Station provided. With a deep breath in, I went off towards Platforms 9 and 10. Countless Muggles were racing by, all too self-absorbed in their own little bubbles to pay attention to a small, rather unnoticeable boy disappear from sight through a magical barrier.

When I got through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾, my senses were overwhelmed. There were witches and wizards of all ages, rushing around and bidding each other farewell. I saw short, plump little witches dragging their children by the hand, hurrying them onto the train. To my right, there was an extremely tall man wearing a formal button-down shirt and tuxedo, along with polka-dot flannel pajama pants. He looked around for a second, before taking out and lighting a pipe.

It was my third year at Hogwarts, so I was expecting the noise and crowds that would be at Platform 9 ¾. Suddenly, I heard someone calling my name. "Severus! Severus, over here!" I turned to see Lily Evans running over to me, a huge grin adorning her face. "How are you? I haven't seen you since last school year."

"I'm good. And you?" I asked, feeling the blush creep into my face.

"I've been great. Over the summer my parents and I went to America. It was so loud there! The streets were even more crowded than they are here in Britain. And when we visited New York City for a day, it was so huge! It was even bigger than London, by a lot. I loved all the street performers there, and one time we saw-" She cut herself off, and flushing red a bit. "Sorry, I tend to babble a lot."

"No, it's fine. I don't mind at all." I told her, and I really didn't. Actually, I love hearing her talk; loved seeing her so enthusiastic about something.

She shrugged, and grinned once more. "So what did you do over summer holiday?" She looked at me curiously, as if she actually cared about what my response was.

"Oh, um, nothing. I just stayed around the house, mostly." Actually, my summer had been pretty horrible. My parents were constantly upset with me, over the tiniest things. And whenever I apologized and promised to do better, they went on a rant about how kids never put in effort. I'm always so grateful to return to Hogwarts after uncomfortable days stuck in my room and awkward silences at the family dinner table every night.

"Well, I better be off. See you on the Hogwarts Express, then?"

I was snapped out of my train of thought, but nodded and said, "Yeah, see you."

With a wave of her fingers, Lily ran off and began to talk with a girl I recognized to be in our year at school. I dumbly waved after her, even though she had run off with her friend by that time.

After a few minutes of standing awkwardly by myself in the corner of the train station, the whistle on the Hogwarts Express blew one loud, long bell to signal that everyone needed to get on right now or be left behind. I jumped a bit from surprise at the loud noise, but quickly gathered my things to put on the train.

Once I was aboard the third car, I swept my eyes down the long corridor in search of an empty compartment to sit in. I tried to avoid most people at all costs, usually. When I was stupid enough to attempt to sit with a few students on the way to Hogwarts during my very first year, they all turned up their noses and old me to leave them alone. And I've learned to never make the same mistake twice.

After a moment, I realized every car was occupied. Realizing my error, I turned and began to leave the train to go to another car, hopefully with empty seats in it. Then, I felt someone's breath on the back of my neck. "Hello, Severus." said a low and ominous voice. I whirled around to find myself face-to-face with none other than Lucius Malfoy. "Would you care to sit with us? We saved you a seat." He stared me in the eyes menacingly, before turning around to go to the compartment he had claimed with his friends without waiting for my answer.

I had no choice but to follow him: last year I had tried to turn down Lucius's request, and came to sourly regret it. Tentatively, I follow the platinum-haired fifth year to his compartment. When I peered in his booth, I saw it filled to capacity with mean-looking, tough sixth-year students. I saw Lucius smirk happily. "Well don't just stand there, come on in." The way his voice drilled into your ear, it made even the simplest of sentences sound like a death threat.

Slowly I opened the squeaking wooden door, flinching every time one of the tough boys shifted in their leather seats. Once I was inside the compartment completely, I stood there awkwardly, realizing that there was absolutely no place for me to sit, unless you count the shelves meant for luggage-storage as a seat.

After a second, Lucius said to one of the boys. "Rookwood, don't you think that you could leave this compartment so our friend Severus here can have a place to sit?" His voice floated across the air like the hiss of a snake, a snake out for blood.

Rookwood's eyes nervously glanced side to side, seeing if any one of his friends was willing to help him out. But every other boy, like Rookwood, was scared out of his wits of Lucius Malfoy, and none dared oppose him. With a clenched jaw and balled fist, Augustus Rookwood stood up stiffly and left the compartment, softly closing the door behind him. When he closed the door, everyone in the compartment lurched forward, which meant the Hogwarts Express had started to move towards its destination.

Lucius smirked, and gestured to the now-empty seat. "Sit down, my friend. We have a lot to talk about." I cautiously sat down, the chair magically shifting to fit my body. I glanced around at all of the other boys, some of which were three times as big and muscular as I was. "So, Severus how was your summer?" Lucius laced his fingers together and leaned forward in his chair, his grey eyes boring into mine, like tiny daggers.

"Um, it was fine." My voice caught in my throat, and my hands were shaking violently. What did he want with me, I thought, I haven't spoken to him in almost a year and now he invites me to sit with him and his band of thugs, and then asks me about my summer holiday?

"Well that's good to hear." he said, still intrigued by me for some reason.

I sat there silently, the awkwardness building in the air by the second. The scenery out the window flew by, all a blur of greens and browns. After a moment, Lucius said, "And how do you feel about starting school? Are there any classes you are eager to take?" He still stared at me with such intensity that I needed to look away.

"Uh, well, I don't, um, really know." Insert awkward pause here, "I'm looking forward to Defense Against the Dark Arts, I guess. Maybe the teacher will be good."

"Yes, yes indeed." Lucius replied, but something changed. His eyes flickered away from mine, and they narrowed as if I had said something to put him off. There was a look about his face as if he was deeply contemplating something. Then, as quickly as it had changed before, he returned to the intensely staring, ever probing Lucius Malfoy he had been just minutes ago. "Well, I personally can't wait to see what the new headmaster is like. His name is Dumbledore, correct?"

"Um, yeah. He used to be a transfiguration teacher." I said, the quiver in my voice audible.

"Yes, he was, wasn't he?" Lucius mused.

I didn't know what to say, so I nodded once, stiffly, and returned to my mute façade.

The next hour was an uncomfortable one, at best. It was filled with long silences, broken by passing comments made by Lucius, to which his band of burly bodyguards nodded quickly, eager to please their leader. I sat in the corner of the compartment, dwarfed in comparison to everyone else save Lucius. I managed to ignore everyone for the most part, drifting off into my own cloud of thought.

One topic that entertained my thoughts for some time was that of Lily Evans. It had been astounding for me to have her in my presence for those few minutes. She had grown slightly tanner since I saw her last during the final day of school last year, but still held the iconic luminescent glow she had carried around since we were young. The girl seemed to radiate light and warmth, like some kind of otherworldly being. I loved her quick, nimble fingers brushing back stray hair from her eyes on windy days. The way that, when you spoke to her, her head tilted to the left as if she was completely absorbed and intrigued by what you were saying. It felt amazing to finally have someone to talk to for once.

After what felt like minutes but must've been an hour, the Hogwarts Express pulled to a screeching stop, the brakes whining in protest. The steady sound of the train's motor slowly faded, growing softer and softer, until it could be heard no more. The five boys around me stood and stretched when the train halted completely. I grimaced when a few cracked their backs, and Lucius must've noticed because he snickered at me quickly before returning to silence.

"Everybody off." Lucius said, more to himself than anyone else.

The door to the compartment opened magically, and everyone in the booth stepped outside into the train's hall, dragging their luggage along with them. The four brutes bushed past me, eager to leave the stuffy booth as soon as possible. Lucius then stood, and in a way I couldn't describe except for daintily, strode out of the compartment, his head held high with the regality of a peacock. "See you in school." he said, nodding at me curtly, before swiftly walking away.

I stood in the compartment for a moment, still in a dizzy stupor that my daydreaming provided for me. After a second, I reached up to grab my trunk, which fell to the floor with a _thud_. As I struggled to pick it up, a soft voice spoke behind me. "Do you need help?" said the female voice. I turned on the spot to see Lily Evans, standing in the doorway with a concerned expression on her face.

"Um, no, I-I've got it." I mumble, the blush creeping into my cheeks again.

"Are you sure?" She looked at me skeptically, obviously not convinced.

"Yeah, I can carry it." I assured her. Then, I surprised myself by picking the trunk up by the handle and hefting it over my shoulder. She smiled warmly, and then turned to leave before gesturing for me to follow her.

I ran after the red-haired girl, until we approached the exit to the train.

Lily inhaled deeply, and it sounded like she was sighing. "Well, this is it. Time for another year at Hogwarts. I don't know, but somehow, I feel like this year will be special. Like something great will happen. I jus don't know what yet."

"Who knows? Maybe it'll be the best year of our lives." I said, peering over at her.

"Yeah, maybe. Ready to jump in?" She smiled at me, and held out her hand.

I took her outstretched hand and grinned back at her. "Let's go."

And with that, he two of us stepped out of the warm confines of the Hogwarts Express into the night, the cool air wrapping around us like a blanket.

Yeah, this year might be something special.


	2. Something

**A/N: I don't own Harry Potter. This was written for Tangooooo14's challenge, "The Album Challenge".**

Severus Snape POV:

The first few days of school were pretty standard. I spoke to Lucius in passing a few more times. It was nothing more than a polite "Good morning" and "How are you", though. There were no conversations of consequence between the two of us.

This group of boys that had been tormenting me since the beginning of first year kept up their old ways. They called themselves The Marauders, a crowd that consisted of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew and, the worst of them all, James Potter. I can't say that I hadn't expected their taunting from the beginning of the year since they had done so for the past two of our years at school. Even so, it still hurt nonetheless. Each cruel word from their mouth was like a needle into my skin. It sent shivers down my spine, made me lay in bed awake at night, wondering what they had in store for me the next day. Some things in this life, though, are as they are, and there's no use trying to change the inevitable.

On this particular morning, it was about three weeks into the first term of the year. I was sitting underneath this big weeping willow tree that I had grown fond of over the years. It was an old tree, decades if not centuries old. I don't know, it may be silly of me to grow attached to just an old tree, but this one felt special. It was one of the rare constants in my life; something I could count on to be there for always, and wouldn't just get up and dance away randomly.

I was reading over a transfiguration essay that was due the next day, making sure it was as good as I could make it. There were students milling about outside, enjoying the sunlight and fresh air. It was all-around quite peaceful. Usually, the courtyard is loud, with too many people around making way too much noise. But now, it was just right. The perfect balance between it being not so many people that I can't think, and not too little so I feel alone.

Suddenly, I heard a sound that disrupted my peaceful reverie. There was the sound of a girl crying softly, as if she didn't want anyone to notice her. I looked up from my parchment to see a familiar flash of red hair running towards me.

Lily approached me, wiping tears from her red and blotchy eyes. I jumped up immediately, ready to comfort her. "What's wrong?" I ask, walking over to where the girl stood. Whoever made her cry, I swear I would make them pay.

"It's nothing," she said, although it was obviously something.

"No, come here." I led her over to my tree and sat her down in the shade before sitting down next to her. "Tell me what happened." My voice sounded surprisingly stern and angry, and I didn't mean for it to.

"Well, you know the Marauders?" she sniffled, rubbing her eyes furiously as if she was embarrassed to let me see her tears.

My jaw clenched and my fists balled. Of course it was them, ruining everyone's day. "Yes…" I said slowly.

"It's just, they take it too far sometimes. It's like, like-" she couldn't go on, a new wave of tears washing over her face.

I watched her cry for a second, a gnawing sensation in my gut. Then, tentatively, I reached out my arm and wrapped it around her hunched over form. When she made no move to retreat, to move away from my repulsiveness, I slowly inched towards her, until my side was against hers. "It will be okay." I murmured, stroking her hair. "Everything's going to be alright."

Then, something happened that startled me. She leaned in towards me, and put her head on my shoulder, still covering her face with her arm. I looked at her for a moment, just watching her. A blazing phoenix amidst clouds of despair. I cautiously reached my other arm around her, until I was full on embracing the girl. I could feel the warmth radiating from her petite body. The long, shuddering breaths she was drawing.

It was pretty shocking to me, to see her like this. Lily was always so strong, so cheery and optimistic. But to see her break down like this, it was like seeing an animal return to the wild, breaking down into its most primitive form, and showing all the weakness that was bottled up inside. Each teardrop that dripped from her eye was like a small gift to me. It showed that she trusted me to see what she really was like. To break down the barriers that she kept between herself and the world. Seeing her like this, it nearly brought me to tears as well. But no. I needed to be strong for her, to show that I'm a person who could withstand the burden that she places on my shoulders, the burden of not caving into my inner emotions and giving her what she needs right now. And that would be strength.

With a quivering breath, she looked up at me and said, "I'm sorry. About this, I mean." Her eyes were red and puffy still, but I thought that she was done crying for the most part.

"No, no. It's completely fine. Don't be sorry." I told her, meaning every word.

She kind of smiled and looked out at the students around us, none of which paid us any heed. "You're a really great guy, Severus. Did you know that?"

I peered at her curiously. I wanted so badly to ask why she thought that because I thought the exact opposite of myself, but I thought it might be rude. "Come with me. I know a place where you can tell me everything about what happened."

Her face fell, as if she was hoping I wouldn't want to know what happened between herself and the Marauders. "Oh, okay." she said.

"Well if you don't want to tell me, that's fine too." I quickly countered, not wanting to make her uncomfortable.

"Well, I don't know. Maybe later. Is that alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's fine. Whatever makes you happy."

"Thanks, Severus. You're the best." She gave me a sad smile, a few flyaway hairs falling from her otherwise neat braid, hanging into her face. Feeling a bit daring, I quickly brushed the hair back behind her ear before bringing my arm back down to my side. "Um, do you mind if I just stay with you for a while? I don't really feel ready to face the world quite yet."

"No, I don't mind at all. Where would you like to go?" I stood up, and reached out my hand towards her. She giggled and took my hand, pulling herself up from the ground and brushing off her skirt.

"Well," she pursed her lips, thinking, "How about the library? No, that's too boring. Um, what about the Great Hall? Wait no, too many people will be there." Suddenly, her face brightened. "I know. Let's go on an adventure. It would be so much fun! We could go explore places we've never been before, and find like a secret hideout or something. There are so many parts of the castle I've never been before. What do you think, Severus?" She looked up at me, her face instantly so much brighter than it had been minutes ago.

"Well if that's what you want, then let's go for it. That could be pretty fun, actually." I said, thinking over all of the abandoned corridors and unused classrooms that I knew about. Being nearly friendless had its perks. For one, I had a lot of time alone to spend around the castle doing as I pleased, which included looking for new rooms and hallways long forgotten about.

Lily beamed at me as she slowly made her transformation into the girl that the rest of the world saw: smiling, positive, ready to take anything life throws at her. She began to walk away towards the castle, and after a few feet she stopped and turned expectantly towards me. I realized that she wanted me to follow her, and then ran after the third-year girl.

When we were walking towards Hogwarts, I couldn't help but stare at the back of her head. There was something about the way she walked, the way she smiled, that made me crazy for her. When I was in her presence, it was like an aura of calmness washed over me. But every second I'm near the girl, I feel a bit more insane. Like I could do something rash that I would later regret. That doesn't make me want to stop seeing her, of course. It just intensifies my hunger for her presence. I don't know, maybe I'm going crazy. I don't know.


	3. Maxwell's Silver Hammer

**A/N: I don't own Harry Potter. This was written for Tangooooo14's challenge, "The Album Challenge".**

Severus Snape POV:

As soon as we crept into the huge castle, Lily and I hurried down an empty corridor to begin our exploration of the school. "So, what secrets of Hogwarts do you know?" asked Lily, looking at me excitedly.

"Well, there is this one place. Follow me." I took off down the passageway, and when reaching the end stopping to wait for Lily to catch up. I smiled a bit, then went through a maze of passageways, knowing the way by memory.

"So you sure have a lot of time to explore, don't you?" Lily asked me when I began to slow down.

"I don't know, I guess. Avery and Mulciber don't usually want to talk to me, so I get a lot of time alone." I shrugged, searching for a specific place in the wall of stone.

"Well, whenever you're lonely you can come and talk to me. That's what best friends are for, right?" she told me.

I turned around from the wall, a bizarre smile across my face. "Yeah, that's what best friends are for."

Lily gave me a thumbs-up, and I turned back, at last finding what I was searching for. I stood up straight, and walked past a brick in the wall three times, all the while thinking, I need a place that would make Lily happy as long as no Marauders can get in.

As if on cue, a door appeared in the stone. The door was solid, brown wood with a simple black handle. Tentatively, I pushed it open to reveal a huge room. It had light purple walls, and a black carpet. There were lounge chairs strewn around it and, on the far wall, there was a huge bookshelf full of imaginable titles. I stepped aside from the door, allowing Lily access to the room. She stepped inside slowly, her mouth agape.

"Wait, what? How… Why… What is this place?" she stuttered, in awe at the room. I had no idea why she was so affected by this room, but I had enough sense not to ask her about it.

"Uh, it's called the Room of Requirement, I think. It appears when you really need something, and it's filled with whatever you needed." I explained, glancing around the room once more.

"This is… Amazing. Wait, is that-" Lily ran over to a corner of the purple room, and lifted up something white and furry. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was a cat. "What is he doing here?" lily exclaimed, holding the cat up to her face and stroking him.

"Um, whose cat is that?" I asked nervously.

"It's mine! His name is Maxwell, I lost him years ago. Mum said something about him running away from home, but when I got a bit older I realized that he had just died. But oh my god, this is amazing! Thank you so much!" She carefully put the cat down and ran over to me and gave me a big hug. I was extremely startled, but slowly I returned her hug.

"You're very welcome." I told her. She stepped back, and on her face was such a happiness that made me feel jittery and warm. I gave her a bashful smile, and she grinned back.

"Agh, how will I be able to repay you?" she asked.

"No, no, don't repay me. It's perfectly fine." I held up my hands.

"Well, okay. Whatever you say, Severus." And with that, she turned around to go see the bookshelf. "Wow, there are all of my favorite books here! The works of Shakespeare, Pride and Prejudice, wow, even Watership Down. This is so great; you have no idea. How long are we allowed to stay in here?"

"As long as you would like." I informed her.

"Okay. Now which book to read first?" She was talking more to herself than me.

"Can I recommend 'The Princess Bride' by William Goldman?" I pulled out a hard covered book from the third shelf.

"'The Princess Bride'? It sounds a bit girly, don't you think?" She looked a bit hesitant to take the book from my hand.

"Yeah, but it's not like that at all. It's one of my favorite books." I told her, holding the book for her to see.

"Well, if you say so. I trust your judgment, so I'll give it a shot." She took the book from me, and sat down in a big leather armchair a few feet away. I smiled to myself, and was then surprised to find another copy of "The Princess Bride". I took it from the shelf, and sat in a chair opposite from Lily and began to read.

Four or five hours later (I lost track of time), Lily snapped the book shut and placed it on the table. I was almost finished, but I closed my copy of the book as well and looked at her. "So what did you think of it?" I asked.

"That was the most awesome book I've ever read." she said candidly.

"I thought that you'd like it." I said, "So what was your favorite part?"

"I really liked hearing all of their back stories. I feel so bad for Fezzik! He just wanted to be peaceful, but they made him wrestle and hurt people." I nodded, agreeing with every word. "And the Zoo of Death was really cool too. I mean I hate hunting, but the idea of that was really cool."

"Yeah. I thought it was cool how he divided the animals up into sections," I said.

"But I hated Humperdink so much! Why couldn't Buttercup just marry whom she wanted?" Lily asked me, as if I would know the answer.

"That's what happens under the cruel reign of a dictatorship." I mused, staring off into space.

Lily peered at me curiously. "You really surprise me sometimes, you know that?"

I shrugged, and then glanced around, suddenly feeling extremely self-conscious and awkward.

"I bet people will be worrying about where we are." said Lily, rising to leave.

"You mean where you are. No one cares about where I am except for maybe you." I mumbled, my eyes downcast.

"Don't be stupid. Come on, I think it's almost time for dinner." Lily walked to the doorway, waiting for me to follow. I rose, but then something hit me.

There was a ball of white flying at me, hitting me in the chest. It felt like a silver hammer beating down on my chest, crushing my lungs. I stood there in pain, looking around frantically for what hit me. It was Lily's cat, Maxwell. It glared at me, the came running at me once more. This time when it jumped, it attached itself to my face.

I grunted in pain, trying to detach it from myself. "Severus!" Lily cried, rushing towards me. The demonic cat began to claw at my face, blood pouring down.

I could taste a mixture of cat fur and blood. Suddenly, I felt the weight of the cat suddenly grow larger. The creature grew and grew until it was half of my height. I was knocked to the ground, the beast still on top of me. I can't explain what it was doing besides mauling me. Suddenly, its teeth were at my throat and its claws were flying everywhere.

The sensation of hammers smashing in my face, chest and pretty much everywhere was overwhelming. In the background, I could barely hear Lily attempting to wrestle the beast to the ground in vain. "No, Lily, don't." I managed to croak out.

Then suddenly, I felt extremely light-headed and tired. My vision went blurry, and it was as if a tunnel started to close around my line of sight. Right there and then, all I really wanted was to go to sleep. I could still hear the shrieks of Lily in the back. The cat/beast/thing was ignoring her completely, for some reason intent on hurting me.

Then, as quickly as the cat grew, it shrank back down into the white puffball of a cat it had been previously. Its fur was matted with blood, but otherwise it looked completely innocent.

"Severus!" I heard Lily calling, "Stay with me, I'm going to get help." Her voice was neurotic and loud to my ears, but it was okay. I felt like I was floating, all the pain becoming dull and fuzzy. The tunnel around my vision grew darker, so all I could see was small circles. Lily's face was right in front of mine. I barely felt tugging on my leg. I wanted to get up and walk myself, but I was just so tired. I literally couldn't move.

Soon, all of the noise died down and my vision failed completely, leaving me stranded in a world of silent darkness.


	4. Oh! Darling

**A/N I don't own Harry Potter. This was written for Tangooooo14's challenge, "The Album Challenge".**

Severus Snape POV:

I woke up to the sound of concerned voices muttering to each other hurriedly. They were talking too quietly for me to understand what they were saying. After a second, my other senses began to return. The scent of a hospital filled my nostrils: the sickly scent of peroxide and cleaning agent. Then, I could feel pain. It wasn't as acute as when I was being attacked by the cat monster, but it still ached a dull, nonspecific pain. And it wasn't exactly pleasant. I moaned a little bit, my neck aching when I tried to move it to the side. The voices ceased immediately, and I assumed that they were looking at me, whoever they were.

My eyelids fluttered open and the bright light coming from the ceiling instantly blinded me. The light was piercing my eyes like tiny daggers, but I soon grew used to the brightness. There were two figures leaning over me, one I could make out was Madam Pomfrey, the warden of the hospital wing who had been working here for who-knows-how-long. The other was the familiar face of Lily Evans, her brow creased with worry.

"Severus? Are you okay?" Lily asked, reaching down and placing one cold, thin hand on my cheek. Her touch sent electricity up and down my spine, jolting me out of my previous sleepy state.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I told her. I hated to see Lily worry, especially if she was worrying about me. When I attempted to sit upright, a searing pain in my neck flared up and I needed to lie back down again.

"Well, you had a broken nose, a sprained wrist, huge gashes on your face and stomach, along with tremendous blood loss." Madam Pomfrey informed me, glancing down at a bit of parchment she had in her hand, "You needed to get seven stitches on your forehead, four on your neck, and eighteen on your abdomen. You should be ready to leave the hospital wing by tomorrow morning, though."

"Yeah, thanks." I tell the professor.

"Well, I'm off. There's a girl who's been attacked by grindylows from the Black Lake. There's a reason we don't let students swim in the lake, you know." And with that, Madam Pomfrey rushed off to take care of another patient.

"Are you sure that you're okay?" asked Lily, eyeing the stitches on my neck.

"Yeah, I'm fine I guess." I said.

"You guess?"

"Well, what I can't figure out is why that cat changed."

"Yeah, that really was weird. I guess it wasn't really Maxwell after all, but just a cat that looked like him." She drifted off, consumed by thought.

After a few minutes of silence, I said, "Well I'm really sorry. About putting you through this, I mean."

She looked at me strangely. "What do you mean, sorry? It's no problem at all. I just hate to see you hurt. And it was partly my fault after all, so I do feel badly. If I hadn't ever picked up that cat or whatever it was, none of this would have happened." Her eyes narrowed like she was thinking about something. I just don't understand…" She trailed off mid-sentence, staring off into space.

"You alright?" I asked her concernedly.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit confused." she explained. "I'm sorry. I think I need to be somewhere. See you soon hopefully?"

For some reason, I really didn't want her to leave. I felt like if she left then I wouldn't be able to handle anything. Like I would break down. "Wait, can you please stay for just a little while longer?" My voice sounded so pathetic to my own ears. I sounded like a dependant child who couldn't stand to be alone. Who knows, maybe I am? But all I knew then was that she couldn't leave me just yet. Lily needed to stay.

"Oh, um, well," Lily glanced at a piece of paper that must've been her schedule, "I think I can stay for a little bit longer." She smiled warmly, and placed her frail hand on top of my larger one. In that moment, I felt so connected to her. Like we shared a special bond that couldn't be broken. I know it was probably so stupid to think that, but right then I felt the safest I had been in a long time.

During those minutes that we sat together in silence, I just felt so calm and at peace. It was as if the world outside had disappeared and it was just the two of us in the whole world. We were in our own little bubble, shielded from the harshness and cruelty of the outside world.

Through the tall window, the sun was just setting, painting the sky a bloody red, dripping down into hues of pink and purple before melting into a sky the color of midnight. The two of us sat there in a comfortable silence, just watching the outside spectacle. As soon as the blazing sun dipped down behind the line of shadowy trees in the distance, Lily stood up slowly.

"I really need to go now. Get well soon, I can't stand to see you in pain." Then, without any precedent, she quickly leaned down and brushed her lips against my forehead. Without a word, she then walked out of the hospital wing, closing the door gently behind her.

I sat there in shock for a moment. She had kissed me. Lily Evans had kissed me. A smile slowly crept onto my lips, until I was beaming in spite of myself.

My hand reached up towards my face, laying my first two fingers on the place where her lips had been just seconds ago. I lay there, smiling like an idiot, when Madam Pomfrey came into the room again.

"You should really get some sleep now. If you're to be well in the morning, sleep will help a lot. Do you want any anesthetics to help you sleep through the night?" the nurse asked me.

"Um, yes, please. That'd be great." When I was with Lily, the pain throughout my body was completely forgotten, but now that she had left feeling began to come back.

Madam Pomfrey took a needle full of some strange clear liquid and brought it to my arm. "It'll only be a pinch, I promise." she told me, and I nodded. She pushed the needle into my arm, while injecting the medicine into my bloodstream.

I immediately felt a bit tired, but nothing that would be too bad. "It'll take effect in about ten minutes," she said, and then hurried off again, dropping the lance into a garbage can next to my hospital bed.

A few minutes later, I felt my eyelids beginning to grow heavy. I struggled to keep them open, but the medicine was just too effective. Slowly, I could feel some of my systems shut down. I began to take deep, even breaths as I sunk into the reaches of sleep. The aching and pain from my injuries were forgotten, and the feeling of warmth and safety overwhelmed me.

Soon I went limp, completely overtaken by the anesthetics rushing through my bloodstream, ordering my body to shut down and rest. The last thing that I thought of before I fell asleep was Lily, and I drifted off to sleep smiling.


End file.

Harry Potter, Friendship, Romance